Heater



De@ 15 1947 E. v. BERGsTRoM :TAL 2,432,5Q3

HEATER Filed March 27, 1946 3 Smets-Sheet, l

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3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l ///////W,. f/f/a//t INVENTORS E. v. BERGsTRoM Erm.

HEATERl Filed Marcha?, 194s Dee.r 16, 1947,

E. V. BERGSTROM ETAL HEATER Filed March 27. 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 16, 1947 s PATENT oFFlcE UNlTED STATE HEATER Eric V.' Bergstrom, Short Hills, N. J., and Ernest Utterback, New York, N. Y.,

ass'ignors to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Incorporated, a corporation of New York Application March `27, 1946, Serial No. 657,590

ried out with great advantage by contacting the Figure 6 is a partial section on line 6-6 of reactants with highly heated refractory solid Figure 5; and granules. Typical of such reactions is the ther- Figure 7 is a` partial section on line l-'l of mal cracking of hydrocarbon oils such as gas Figure 5. oil and crude oil to give high yields of ethylene. Referring specifically to Figure 1, a refractory The reaction Proceeds very satisfactorily at teml0 granular solid such as fused aluminum oxide havperatures on the order of 1500 F. but the reacing an average diameter of 0.3 inch is circulated tion is very rapid and at such temperatures secin a cyclic manner through a heater I0, a reactor ondary condensation reactions rapidly set in to Il and an elevator l2. In the heater- In the granproduoe highly condensed ring hydrocarbons ularsolid is raised to a suitable temperature by which plug up apparatus and seriously reduce the the combustion of fuel introduced at I3 in air yield 0f the desired DTOCUC. These disadvanfrom blower I4, ue gases being divertedto an tages are overcome to alarge extent by introduceconomizer or direct to the stack at i5. The ing the charge to a body of highly heated refrachighly heated solids pass downward through a tory granules for a suitably short contact time feed leg I6 having a steam sealing Zone l1 t0 the and then rapidly quenching the reaction mixture reactor Il A preheated oil charge which may t0 temperatures on the order of 900 F. or lower. contain water as described in more detail here- By this means any heavy secondary products inafter is introduced from a manifold i8 and are laid down Aon the refractory granules and may brought into direct contact with the heated solids be rapidly removed by burning. Further, the in the reactor- The gases rising from contact contact time can be very efiiciently controlled. 25 with the bed of granular solid are quenched with The present 'invent/i011 provides a highly efwater introduced at i9 and the cooled eiliuent cient heater for raising the temperature of refrac.- stream is removed at 20 and passed to a tar sepatory granules for use in processes of the type rater 2| wherein high boiling materials are redisclosed above. It is a principal object of this moved. The remaining vapor passes from the invention to provide a heater wherein the flame tar separator by line 22 to a spray condenser 23 is propagated within the mass of granules in the wherein oil or water spray further condenses a. heater thus making it unnecessary to provide perportion of the effluent stream to leave a Vapor marient structural elements in the nature of a containing a high proportion of the desired prodre box adapted to contain extremely high temuct which passes overhead by line 24 to suitable perature flames. In its preferred embodiment, purification equipment such as a gas plant. The the invention further provides means for owirlg bottoms from spray condenser 23 are transferred hot products of combustion countercurrently" to an oil separator 24 from which is removed a through a moving bed of granules and for using hydrocarbon layer which may be cooled in heat a portion of the heat for preheating granules enexchanger 25 and a water layer which is passed tering the combustion zone and for preheating 40 through cooler 26 and may then be returned to air and fuel for the combustion. the reactor for quenching or to be mixed with the These and other objects and advantages of the charge stream. `The liquid hydrocarbon layer invention will become apparent from considerafrom oli separator 24 may be further purified to l tion 0f a typical Plant fOr practicing the invenrecover gasoline, aromatic naphthas or relatively tion as illustrated by the annexed drawings pure aromatic eompounds wherein: Returning again to the reactor Il, the cooled Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of refractory granules pass down through the reacthe principal elements 0f a plant fOI' practicing tor to be removed at 21 for recycling to the the thermal cracking of hydrocarbons to probeaten It is often desirable` to seal the bOttOm duce Olefns of the reactor against escape of hydrocarbons Figure 2 is a vertical half section of a heater as by introduction of steam at line 28 to the botfor bringing granular refractory solids to the tom of the reactor. The granules pass through temperature desired for the reaction; an evacuation pot 29 connected to a Water injector Figure 3 is va partial section on line 3-3 of 30 and are then transferred to the bottom of the Figure 2; 5.5 elevator 1 2 wherein they are raised to the 170D 2 Figure 4 is a detail view of a modified type of burner tube for use inthe apparatus of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a partial vertical section of the reactor to which this invention is directed;

solids.

yand returned to the heater through a. classier for introducing air and fuel, thus preheating the solids as well as the air and fuelsupplied to the burners. i

Granular solids are continuously introduced at the top of the heater I to fall on a tube sheet '33 having a plurality of depending feed -pipes 34 which provide a substantially uniform supply of solids across the heater above the heating zone. Solids from the feedipipes 34 pass downwardly through preheating pipes 35 to enter a zone of direct contact with products of combustion below the ends of the tubes 35. Air and fuel for heating the solid are introduced Iby air headers 36 and fuel headers 31 respectively. Depending from the air headers 33 are a plurality of air tubes 38, each enclosing a fuel tube 39 connected to a fuel header 31. As the air and fuel pass downwardthrough their respective supply tubes, they are heated and are then combined at the bottom of the supply tubes to provide a very hot flame impinging directly on the hot granulai As will be apparent, there is an oper space, free of solids, directly below the end of each air tube 38, the form of which depends on the angle of repose of the granular solid. This forms a, small combustion cham-ber, but for the most part, the flame is propagated throughand combustion occurs on the surface of the granular solids thus giving very eilicientI heating. The products of combustion flow upward through the mass of solids in countercurrent direction thereto until they reach the bottom of preheating pipes 35 and enter a chamber free of solids about the preheating tubes 35 and the air tubes 38.

The highly heated solids are withdrawn from4 -the number of openings in plate 45.

The general arrangement of tubes inthe heating and combustion portion of heater i0 is illus- `trated in Figure 3 wherein it is shown how the tubes for supplying air and fuel are uniformly dispersed among the tubes for supplying hot granular solids. shows a modified type of tube for supplying air and fuel. The air tube 38 is of the same general nature as those shown in Figure 2 but the fuel is introduced at a plurality o f spaced points near the bottom of the burning sectionby means of perforated pipes 46 extending out from the fuel tube 39 as shown. Preferably, a triangular iin 41 is provided above each of the perforated tubes 46 as shown. Other modifications of the specific structure shown which accomplish the same result of propagating a flame Within the mass of solid particles will be immediatly appgl'g t0,

Figure 4 is a detail View which those skilled in the art. For example, the fuel feed pipe may extend down into the mass of.

solids below the end of the air tube with fuel supplied by an open end of the fuel pipe. perforations or the like.

Figures 5to 7 inclusive relate to the reactor structure which is characterized by means to so introduce the hot refractory granules that they Vwill have an upper surface of relatively simple configuration thus rendering easier the problem of controlling reaction time. The outer shell 50 of reactor Il, having internal insulation 5i, is of generally circular outline. The actual reactor space, however, is defined by an inner shell 52 of generally rectangular cross-section. The hot solids are introduced to reactor Il from feed pipe 53 to a hood 54 above a dividing insert 55. Because the reactor is operated substantially full at all times, the hot granular solid will be distributed along the length of divider 55, the slope of the upper portion of the hood 54 along its greater length (see Figure 6) being greater than the angle of repose of the solids. The solids therefore flow out the bottom of hood 54 equally along the length thereof and having an upper surface of the moving bed extending as a plane sloping at the angle of repose from the bottom edge or hood 54 to the opposite side of shell 52.

The compact moving bed of solids within shell 52 moves steadily downward to flow control plates 56, 51 and 58 which are similar in function to flow control plates 40, 42 and 44 of the heater. Sealing steam is advantageously introduced by a plurality of inverted angles 59 which may be placed between ow control plates 56 and 51. It is found desirable to prevent condensible hydrocarbons from leaking out of the shell 52 and condensing between outer shell 50 and internal insulation 5i. This is advantageously accomplished by introducing a noncondensible gas at 59. The gas introduced at 5S may be the light hydrocarbon gases available around oil refineries or may be the light hydrocarbon gases removed from the product of the reaction.

The charge is introduced to the upper portion of the moving bed within inner shell 52 by the plurality of pipes 60 extending into the reactor through stuffing boxes El from headers 62. Normally, reactions of the present type proceed more satisfactorily in the presence of steam and the steam for the reaction may be provided by water which is vaporized in the reactor with the charge. The water may be emuisied with the charge to the reactor or a mixture of water and oil charge' from header 62 may be passed through a homogenizing valve before introduction to the reactor. The pipes 60 extend through a plate 03 which forms the top ofthe reaction zone and through strips 64 extending from the edge of hood 5d to the inner shell 52. The space between the strips 66 and the top plate 63 form a discharge collecting zone from which the treated vapors are withdrawn by pipe to be conducted to separating and purifying apparatus as described above. The temperature of the eiliuent gases is advantageously reduced upon entry into discharge pipe 35 by spraying water therein from a pipe 56 entering the reactor through stuiling box 61.

In a typical operation a mass of aluminum oxide refractory pellets of about 0.3 inch diameter is handled in the elevator at 900 F. at the rate of 200 tons per hour. In the heater the temperature of the pellets is raised from 900 F. to 1575 F. and the pellets enter the reactor at 1546 F. 31,150 lbs. per hour of oil at 900 F. and 15,700 lbs. per hour of water are introduced to the heated granular'refractorfy. At a contact time of 0.29 second with a mean effective temperature of 1440". F. a product is produced which is quenched immediately with water to 572 F.v After removalof tars, the remaining vapor is quenched to 100 F.

Among the products produced are 8,752 lbs. per hour of ethylene representing a yield of 28.1% by weight of this principal product. The process also produces 1500' lbs. per hour of highly aromatic gasoline having a clear octane number of 90 or better. Substantial yields of propylene and butadiene are also obtained.

It will be noted that the reaction zone is such that the process is not adversely effected by accumulation of coky or tarry deposits or by deposition of solid matter itself from impurities in the charging stock. Similarly, dirty Water may 20 be used since all solid deposits from the reaction are laid down on solid particles which are thereafter transferred to a combustion zone wherein solid contaminants are rapidly and efilciently removed by burning.

The apparatus is also adapted to production of acetylene at 2400 F. by cracking of propane or the like. It is found desirable in this case to introduce the hydrocarbon charge to a fairly low point in the reactor, say a short distance above the upper flow control plate and introduce water or steam in a uniform manner near the top of the reactor.

We claim: j

1. In a heater for granular solids, a vertical shell, means at the upper end of said shell for introducing granular solids to the interior of said shell, means at the lower end of said shell for removing granular solids from the interior thereof, a plurality of vertical air tubes in said shell, `means to introduce air to the upper portion of each of said tubes, a fuel pipe in each of said air tubes, terminating near the bottom' of said air tubes. means to supply fuel to each of said fuel pipes, a plurality of feed tubes open at both-ends having the lower open ends thereof feedntubes and an outlet for gaseous products of combustion from said shell intermediate the ends of said feed tubes. y

`2. In a heater for granular solids, a vertical shell, means at the upper end of said shell for introducing granular solids to the interior of said shell, means at the lower end of said shell for removing vgranular solids from the interior thereof, a plurality of vertical air tubes in said shell, means to introduce air to the upper portion of each of said tubes, means to supply fuel to the interior of said shell adjacent the lower ends of said air tubes, a plurality of feed tubes open at both ends having the lower open ends ,thereof spaced upwardly in'said shell from the lower ends of said air tubes, means to direct granular solids moving downwardly within said shell through said feed tubes and an outlet for gaseous products of combustion from said shell intermediate the ends of said feed tubes.

3. In a heater for granular solids,`a vertical shell, means at the upper end of said shell for introducing granular solids to the interior of said shell, means at the lower end of said shell for removing granular solids from the interior thereof, a plurality of vertical air tubes in said shell, means to introduce air to the upper portion of each of said tubes, a fuel pipe in each of said air tubes, terminating near the bottom of said air tubes, means to supply fuel to each of said fuel pipes, a plurality of fuel outlets extending from the lower portion of each of said fuel pipes through the air tube thereabout, a plurality of feed tubes open at both ends having the lower open ends thereof spaced upwardly in said shell from the lower ends of said air tubes,

40 means to direct granular solids moving down- 

